Kolkata Knight Riders' Yusuf Pathan responded to his naysayers with some style and panache as he smashed a scintillating 22-ball knock of 72 against the Sunrisers Hyderabad to propel his side to second spot in the ongoing season of the Indian Premier League.
Yusuf earned his Ranji Trophy debut in the following year and his allround ability came to the fore in the 2004-05 season when he finished as Baroda's fourth-highest scorer and the third-highest wicket-taker. He modelled his game around powerful hitting and finished with the highest strike rate in the 2006-07 season of the Ranji Trophy. Quite deservedly, he earned a spot in India's T20 side for the World Cup 2007 and also opened the batting in the final against Pakistan.
During the inaugural season of the Indian Premier League, Yusuf was picked up by the Rajasthan Royals. He finished with 435 runs, including four fifties at an astonishing strike-rate of 179. That combined with a man-of-the-match performance in the IPL final, which Rajasthan Royals won, got him a spot in India's ODI side for the Asia Cup.
He was an active part of the Kolkata Knight Riders when they were crowned champions in 2012 and the franchise saw it fit to re-invest in him during the player auctions in 2014. Despite not retaining him, the Kolkata franchise used their 'right to match' option to reclaim his services for Rs. 3.25 crore. With his bludgeoning knock against the Sunrisers Hyderabad that sees Kolkata finish second in the points table, Yusuf has repaid the faith that his team owners put in him and could even be the unstoppable force that scripts a fairytale ending to their 2014 campaign, in guiding them to their second title in three years.
Yusuf Pathan, Kolkata Knight Riders' Unstoppable Force
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